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State lifts Fitchburg landfill capacity, making it largest operation in Mass.

By Elizabeth Dobbins, edobbins@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
03/18/2017 10:06:42 AM EDT

The Fitchburg-Westminster landfill will be able to accept nearly 140,000 tons more waste annually, making it the state's largest landfill operation. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE FILE PHOTO / Ashley Green

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FITCHBURG -- A state permit approved Wednesday will allow the Fitchburg-Westminster sanitary landfill to accept nearly 140,000 tons more waste annually, making it the state's largest landfill operation, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

The state Department of Environmental Protection granted the modified permit to Resource Control Inc. a subsidiary of Waste Management, which runs the landfill it jointly owns with Fitchburg and Westminster at 101 Fitchburg Road.

Despite the increase in dumping limits, the life span of the landfill, which is projected to take materials through 2024, will not decrease, Waste Management representative Garrett Trierweiler wrote in an email.

"An important part of the permit modification is that although we have received an increase in the maximum annual amount that can be accepted, we have committed to maintaining the site life for the City of Fitchburg and Town of Westminster through 2024," he wrote.

Trierweiler did not elaborate on the methods RCI plans to use to ensure the company upholds this commitment, but Fitchburg Health Director Stephen Curry said, for years, the landfill has received less than the projected amount of waste.

"We haven't seen the tonnage that we're permitted for in many years," he said. "Overall I guess you could say it shortens the life, but it doesn't really change the projection.

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Under the modifications the facility can accept up to 1,725 tons of construction, recycling, asbestos, contaminated soil and household waste each operating day. This totals 538,200 tons annually.

The previous permit allowed the landfill to accept 1,250 tons daily or 390,000 tons annually. The most recent annual report posted by the state in January 2017, indicates the landfill accepted 343,809 tons over a 12-month period.

The Westminster Board of Health held a public hearing on the modified permit in January and voted to approve the request on Feb. 8. Westminster has jurisdiction over the change because RCI is currently operating on a section owned by the town, according to Curry.

He said he spoke in favor of the change at the Westminster hearing, because he believes an increased permitting limit will encourage RCI to continue operating at the location,

"It's really very simple," he said. "Right now we are looking at fees for our tonnage of municipal trash produced by the residents at $40 a ton. If we lose the landfill that's probably going to double or triple."

According to Curry, the city also receives host fees from RCI, which have between $1 million and $3 million annually in recent years. Since these host fees are tied to tonnage, Curry said he expects the city to receive an additional $1 million to $1.5 million annually under the new permit.

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Edmund Coletta said the permit will not change the footprint of the landfill, which opened in 1971.

To expand the life of the landfill beyond 2024, Curry said owners are looking at purchasing abutting land.

"Over the next few years we'll be proposing an expansion to try to get years (beyond) 2024. This activity sort of displays to the permitters in the state that there's need," he said.

Trierweiler said by increasing the tonnage sites can accept, haulers will be able to bring waste to the Fitchburg/Westminster sanitary landfill if other landfills shut down.

"As in-state disposal capacity is projected to decrease in Massachusetts, existing assets will be relied on more than ever to manage our waste," Trierweiler said in an email. "(The permit modification) will provide area haulers with more flexibility in the event other sites reach capacity or are no longer in operation."

Curry said several landfills in western Massachusetts recently reached capacity or are expected to close soon. Of the 20 operating landfills listed in January by the Department of Environmental Protection, 16 are expected to become inactive by 2025 or earlier, according to the document.

"Massachusetts is starting to realize landfills are important," Curry said. "The landfills are disappearing and what do we do with our trash? Plain and simple."

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